Kabusecha or Kabuse tea (かぶせ茶) translates as "covered tea" due to the pre-harvesting process of directly shading the tea plants.

Kabusecha tea plants are usually shaded directly on top of the plants, rather than the scaffolded approach of Gyokuro, the amount of time too is less, ranging from 7-10 days (rather than the 20+ of Gyok).

This all results in a tea that has more L-Theanine than teas grown under direct sun (which converts the L-Theanine into catechins/antioxidants), resulting in a sweeter, more umami tea.

Kabusecha liquor is a pale yellow-green colour with a mild astringent, grassy flavour, rich green tea flavour and a slightly sweet.

Another fabulous, traditionally made, green tea from our 200+ year, family owned, tea house in the Uji, Kyoto region of Japan.

“Japanese green tea is first steamed for between 15–20 seconds to prevent oxidization of the leaves. Then, the leaves are rolled, shaped, and dried. This step creates the customary thin cylindrical shape of the tea. Finally, the leaves are sorted and divided into differing quality groups.

The initial steaming step imparts a difference in the flavour between Chinese and Japanese green tea, with Japanese green tea having a more vegetal, almost grassy flavour (some taste seaweed-like). Infusions from sencha and other green teas that are steamed (like most common Japanese green teas) are also greener in colour and slightly more bitter than Chinese-style green teas.” [wiki]

Preparation

Use approximately 2-3g per 100-150ml. of water at about 70 Deg.C and steep initially for 60 seconds.

A great tea for the A. Koridashi ice, or B. Mizudashi, cold brewing methods.

A. add 1g per 30-50ml ice and allow to melt.

B. 10g tea to 1-1.5 litre water refrigerate for a few hours or overnight, strain, drink, enjoy...!

Be sure to serve ALL of the infusion at this time to avoid the over steeping of subsequent brews. For future steeps gently increase the water temperature while decreasing time in the pot (30, 40, 50 seconds).